Speaking on Off The Ball, Phil Thompson has been discussing Liverpool’s recent problems on the pitch and where their issues stem from.
Make no mistake about it, the Reds have been truly dreadful as of late. They’ve been comfortably beaten by teams you’d expect them to steamroll, and they just look like a completely different team at the moment.
Thompson can’t quite figure out where the club’s issues have come from, but he says that it’s lazy to blame the departure of Sadio Mane for the Reds’ struggles this term.
Not all Mane’s fault
Thompson discussed the Senegalese star.
“I don’t know it has gotten that bad. You like to think you can come up with answers, you think tactically, emotionally, you go through all of those things. You think was it about Sadio Mane? People look back at that but I think that’s too easy to say it’s just Sadio Mane, but the press is just not working anymore, I don’t know how or why,” Thompson said.
Too simplistic
Has Sadio Mane’s departure made Liverpool into a worse team? Of course it has. Is it the root of all of their problems? Not a chance.
Mane was a vital cog in this Liverpool machine, there’s no doubting that, but his presence wasn’t the difference between being quadruple contenders and a mid-table outfit.
Liverpool aren’t just worse this season, they’re unrecognisable, and that’s not wholly down to the fact they don’t have Mane.
In all honesty, it’s not obvious where Liverpool’s issues this season stem from, but to point the finger squarely at the sale of Mane is far too simplistic.
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